


From Boy Wonder to Computer Geek

by Jeswii



Series: From Boy Wonder to Computer Geek [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), NCIS
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-07-17
Updated: 2018-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-03 11:29:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11531310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeswii/pseuds/Jeswii
Summary: After being kidnapped and tortured by the Joker (Base off events in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker) Tim Drake decides to go to start a new life under the name Timothy McGee. He works in NCIS with a team that reminds much of his boy wonder days, and when the team goes to Gotham to investigate a murder Tim has to try very hard to hide his old life.





	1. Reminders

**Author's Note:**

> The premise of this story is not my own, I'd read a few other fics using the same idea but all had never been completed or updated in years. If someone working on those feels I am stealing their ideas feel free to contact me and we can discuss a solution.
> 
> I'm also not an expert at all things DC comics, if you feel I'm portraying a character poorly please tell me. I'm open to constructive criticism.
> 
> While Tim has moved passed his boy wonder days he still keeps in contact with his old team, and they are on good terms.

The day was as any other, NCIS agent Timothy McGee was in the squad room, filling out paperwork, trying to forget of his nightmares from the previous night. Tony and Ziva arrived soon after him, continuing their banter from the elevator. "Look all I'm saying Tony is if you didn't beat the tree so much then maybe you'd get your answers"

Tony sat down at his desk "Beat around the bush Ziva, and no, I can't. I can't just ask a girl if I've dated her sister while on a date. Right McGee?"

McGee chuckled at their conversation but had no response to give. "I... uh..." He stumbled over his words and before he could form a finished answer his his boss, Leroy Jethro Gibbs entered the Squad room "Grab your gear" He said "We got a body." Pleased that he had to give no answer Tim grabs his bag and heads to the elevator with the rest of them. "Also Tony, never date the sister" Gibbs says on his way out smiling.

"So where are we going Boss?" Tim asked

"Gotham" Gibbs says. The word echoes in McGee's ears. After so many years working for NCIS they've never gone to Gotham, why now? The whole way there Tim feels as if he's going to be sick, when he looks at the address he feels worse. It's the same warehouse that the Joker held him at his mercy.

* * *

In the warehouse Tim stands a floor below where it all took place. On the ground lies a dead Private First Class, judging by the badges. Cautiously Tim bends down and scans his finger, within seconds the name Erik Meena shows on the screen. Tony and Gibbs both notice the lack of color in McGee's face "Proby, you good?" Tony asks

The question catches him off guard "What... uh.. yeah" He says, neither of them believe him but they don't ask about it.

Doctor Mallard and his assistant Jimmy Palmer walk into the warehouse "Ah, Gotham." The doctor says "if you believe the urban legends you may yet see a caped crusader and his..."

"Boy Wonder" Palmer says over excitedly finishing the doctor's thought. "Some believe they protect the city and beat up villains" The whole team besides McGee give Palmer a look one would give a child.

Doctor Mallard continues his examination, he flip the body to relieve a gunshot wound to the chest with dust all around. Tim could recognize that wound from anywhere, it's from the penguin's umbrella gun. 'Why couldn't this just be a regular murdered' Tim thought to himself. While examining the rest of the room he sees the newest Boy Wonder hiding in the rafters, he doesn't say anything to Damien just gives him a slight smile and moves on. Ziva finds access to the attic of the building, where it all went down. "Gibbs, you may want to have a look at this" Tim follows Gibbs up the ladder and into the room. The ground is still stained with his own blood, it's everywhere. Even Gibbs was repulsed slightly due to the sheer amount of it in here. "It looks old, but judging by the layout of this room it was an interrogation, and a painful one at that."

Standing here Tim almost fainted, when Ziva bends down to collect a sample of the blood he panics "Wait-" He says. The two agents look to Tim who looks even more terrified than before. "I thought... I saw something" He says pointing into the shadows, he knows Bruce is there, watching.

"You're just letting Palmer's ghost stories get to you McGee" Ziva says. Right before she can take a sample of his blood a batarang nocks the swab out of her hand.

Bruce emerges from the shadows dressed fully as Batman. Gibbs and Ziva both aimed their guns at him, Tim followed to not raise suspicion but has no intent on pulling the trigger. "What happened up here has nothing to do with the dead man down stairs." He says in a deep voice "the man who did this is dead" 'because I shot him' Tim thought to himself. He relives that moment in his head many times and can hear the Joker's final words 'that wasn't very funny'

"Then you'll have no problem with us taking a sample of the victim's blood" Gibbs responds untrusting of the vigilante.

He attempts to take another sample but Bruce stops him again. "The victim was one of my team, his identity cannot be in the hands of cops"

Before anyone else can move a gunshot is heard down stairs. 'Damien' Tim thought and rushed down stairs to see the Boy Wonder taunting Tony, Gibbs and Ziva followed close behind. Tony had fired one shot, not intended to harm the boy and once everyone was on ground level the Boy Wonder disappeared in smoke. "What the hell Dinozzo" Gibbs demanded answers

Tony explained that the boy threw knives at Dr.Mallard and Palmer and had more in his hand. Next to the dead Private lied two batarangs, Tim knew what Bruce's plan was by now. Smoke came down from the attic and the whole team had to evacuate the building, Palmer and Dr.Mallard rushed to move the body out.

* * *

 

By the time the fire team will have secured the building all DNA evidence of Tim's toure will be fully destroyed, why Bruce had not done this before now he does not know. As the NCIS team sits on the curb Tim does his best to compose himself but looking at all of them, they remind him much of his old team. Gibbs is practically a lawful version of Bruce, minus the money and playboy status, Ziva reminded him much of Damien, and Tony resembles Dick more than Tim wants to admit. The similarities between the teams and Tim's acknowledgement of it just made his nerves worse. He heads to the corner store for a bathroom and some water. He washes his face trying to bring some of the color back to it, but his cheeks stay pale as can be. When he exits the bathroom Tony had been waiting for him and down a few isles he can see Barbara, in a hoody and jeans to blend in. "So what's got you so freaked out Tim?" Tony asks

"It's nothing" He responds and buys a water from the man behind the counter.

Tony doesn't believe him "So what's really bothering you then?"

Tim sighs "I lived here when I was younger, it wasn't the best time of my life" Tony was surprised, Tim never talked about his childhood, and he'd only met close friends of his from college. Tim could tell by his answer Barbara was hurt, but his answer wasn't completely true. There were times he loved being the Boy Wonder, adopted son of Bruce Wayne, but there were times where looking back it was stupid of Bruce to let him go out. 

Laughter is heard from Tony "So you knew the Batman was real then?"

"Yes, I did" Tim answers "I've seen him working side by side with the police here actually."

"They trust him?" Tony asks in surprise.

Tim explains how much the Batman and his team had done for the city, he's earned their trust. They return to the crime scene where GCPD had showed up. Gordon was requesting that any evidence from the Batman be sent to them. Gibbs declined but considering we're using their forensics lab, they're welcomed to looks at any data found.

 


	2. Scars

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this took so long, with everything going on I hadn't had time to work on this. I'm not sure when I'll get time to work on the next chaoter but I promise there will be one, eventually.

The team had decided to rent a hotel suite to set up their main base for a few days since GCPD is very full and crowded all the time. Tim, Ziva, and Tony were gathered in a circle on laptops collecting anything they could find, but Tim already knew enough. He knows it was the Penguin who killed The Private. It was mid day when Gibbs entered the room the team stood up and prepared a report, Tony started "the victim's name is Private First Class Erik Meena, 23, he's lived in Gotham most of his life, his father died when he was 3, his mother died a month ago due to gang activity while he was deployed"

"What kind of gang activity?" Gibbs asked taking a sip of his coffee, although 'the coffee here isn't as good as in DC' he thought to himself.

Tim went to his computer to find her autopsy report even though he already knew the answer. The report confirmed it, 'Widowed wife and single mother, Ariena, found dead.' The report stated that the round shot through her coincided with all other murders done at the Penguin's hand. His umbrella gun shot a large round bullet and left a dusty residue around the wound. "She was shot by the Penguin" Tim said getting strange looks from the rest of his team "His real name is Oswald Cobblepot, he's one of the major gangsters left here, he has a special gun built into his umbrella that leaves a powder around the wound. The Private was shot with the same gun"

"So this was about revenge" Ziva theorized. 'It was a good theory, except he'd lived in Gotham long enough to know better. Only new people to the city try to go face to face with the Penguin' McGee thought.

"I doubt it" Tim murmured to himself not thinking the rest of them would hear him. "And why's that" Gibbs asked giving McGee a confused look. "Well, anyone who's lived in Gotham for more than a year knows that the Penguin isn't someone to mess with."

"You sound like you are speaking from experience McGee" Ziva stated 

Tim sighed "Well I am" He explained "I lived in Gotham until I was about 20. And everyone knows not to go up against people like Penguin, because he can get you back harder."

"People like the Penguin" Tony questioned "How many of these wackos are there?" Ziva was rather curious about this city herself now.

Tim looked to the ground trying to remember how many people he had faced as Robin and Tim Drake, there were too many to count. Two Face, Clay Face, Poison Ivy, Firefly, Harley Quinn, and  _The_   _Joker_ were the first that came to mind _._ The thought of the Joker made Tim go stiff, the rest of the team noticed but no one said anything at the moment. They all realized something happened to Tim before he went to MIT, considering he never talks about anything before then, but now they're not sure they really want to know, and doubt it's something he wants to share. "Two Face is the other major crime boss left in the city" 'since the Joker died' he could have said but decided against it "But it's not important right now. If nothing's changed since I left the Penguin has a secure building near the bay, it's our best place to start."

"Okay, take Ziva and Tony and go check it out" Gibbs said to McGee. Tim knew this was a bad idea but there was no way for him to explain that without bringing up more questions, so he went along. He also messaged Bruce about the idiotic plan he has and hopes that the Dark Knight decides to make an entrance.

While McGee was driving Ziva asked "Can you tell me of the man with two faces" She was rather interested on how that worked

Tim chuckled. "He doesn't actually have two faces, half his face was burned in an explosion," 'Caused by the Joker' "And after words he went crazy, developed a second personality and runs his own gang." He explained "When someone 'wrongs him' he flips a two headed coin, that one side is burned, to decide if they live or die"

Ziva was baffled by the idea that a man who only kills for the sake of killing has gone so long and avoided punishment. She'd met people like that in this line of work but they always caught them, from the sounds of it this 'Two Face' has been doing this since Tim was young.

* * *

**At GCPD**

Gibbs entered the forensics lab in the GCPD, with a CafPow, and was surprised to be greeted with silence. "what you got Abbs?" He asked as he always does but she didn't answer. After a closer examination he realized she was listening to something through earbuds and as he got closer he could hear the music he was used to hearing. Gibbs pulled out one and caused Abby to turn around. "What you got Abbs" he asked again as if it were the first time.

She turned to him as happy as always "I got something strange" she says walking over to a computer and pulled up a picture. "Ducky pulled this 'bullet' out of our Private across the hall but it's custom made. The bullet is too large and round to be used from a regular gun and the residue on his clothes confirm my theory. I bet you can't guess who and what the bullet came from" She jokes, not expecting him to answer.

"An Oswald Cobblepot calls himself The Penguin, the bullet was from an umbrella turned gun" He answers plain and simple.

She pouts "Well fine then, take the fun out of it" as Gibbs begins to leave Abby stops him "I got more" he turns back around and walks to her side "The Penguin, and yes I'm calling him that, has actually gone up in a fight against the masked vigilante you met earlier, and lost each time. But each time soon after he break out of his prison or Arkham Asylum and is back in command of his gang."

"Asylum?" Gibbs questioned unsure of the man's mental health

To that question Abby has no answer, she had no explanation to why that man was put in an insane asylum. It only seems that it was easier to escape than the average prison. "There is one more thing, the building that the Private was found in, it's a mad house, or was. That little shack in the middle of nowhere belonged to no other than this city's craziest, the Joker." She said trying to sound ambiguous pulling up a picture of a mad eyed clown. "He was considered one of the batman's greatest 'villains' until he was killed."

"Thanks Abbs" Gibbs says and sets the CafPow on the table. He proceeds to the morgue where Doctor Mallard had finished the autopsy "Anything Duck?"

The man turns to Gibbs "Afraid not Jethro, Private First Class Erik Meena was in prime physical condition until he met his untimely end via bullet" Gibbs nods and begins to leave "And Jethro" Gibbs turns around "Something is bothering Timothy, maybe a reminder of where he was from, but he needs someone to talk to"

Gibbs gave Dr.Mallard a small smile and left.

* * *

In the car Tony was researching on his phone then asked "So what's up with all the crazies? The Penguin, Two Face, Scarecrow, listen to this you all even have a Joker."

Tim was driving and mention of the Joker gave him the urge to slam the brakes "Had" he said continuing to drive "The Joker's long dead"

Ziva and Tony were both shocked by Tim's tone but neither knew what to say. Ziva tried anyways "You seem to have anger towards this man" 'What I have is far more than anger' Tim thought grabbing the wheel tight and not looking away from the road. 

Tony's concern was growing from Tim's silence "Look McGee, you can tell us, I mean who would we tell?" 'The world' he thought 'they could tell the world that Timothy McGee or Drake was a boy wonder. They could tell the world who really killed the Joker.'

"These 'crazies,' as you called them, I seen what they do to this city, to people." He says hiding the truth in his words "I've seen families destroyed by these people," His own included, Bruce was so angry when he joined because he had just lost Jason. "and I've seen hundreds of cops killed trying to take them down. So yes I'm angry at them, but I'm afraid for you all. These people are capable of too much."

"We've handled killers before McGee, we'll survive" Tony says

That phrase reminded Tim of the day after the Joker died.

_Young Tim Drake was wrapped up tight in a blanket in Wayne Manor "He'll survive Master Bruce" Alfred said thinking that Tim could not hear them "But he'll need time to heal"_

_"Thank you Alfred" Bruce said entering the room with Tim. He didn't say anything to him because he knew this was no time for words, all he did was wrap his arms around Tim and hold him. Tim didn't know what to do at that moment but he knew it was better with Bruce there._

"Tim watch out!" Ziva yells causing Tim to return to the present and swerve off the road. All he saw was a small red figure on the road but he knew who it was. The car was stuck in a ditched at least a twenty minuets walk from the docks. 'What is he thinking sending Damien in front of his moving car?' Tim asked himself knowing it was dangerous, but everything they do is.

When the three agents manage to make it out of the van and up to the road Damien was gone. Tim looked to Ziva and Tony and saw that neither of them were injured, but he had been, there was a piece of glass from the windshield lodged in his side. While it didn't cause Tim any pain he hadn't felt he knew the others would notice it. "Um guys" He says removing his hand from the wound

Both of them rushed to Tim as he stumbled slightly for show. Ziva began examining the wound while Tony called for an ambulance, "Tim I need you to take off your shirt, Tony get the first aid kit"

While Tony searched through the trunk of the car Tim grew very nervous. Under his shirt is more scars than he can explain, he managed to hide them for this long, even in summer he's worn long sleeves and pants. But he knew Ziva wouldn't give up on try so and trying not to would cause even more questions, so reluctantly he took his shirt off. Tony came around the side of the car "Whoa" was all he could say really he was surprised in how toned McGee was and the multiple scars.

Ziva on the other hand ignored what she saw for the moment and was only concerned about two things: one-Tim's bleeding side and, and two-his lack of a reaction. 'He doesn't look to be in pain' she thought. "This will hurt" she told him as she pulled the glass from his side. He flinched but that was a rather small reaction for pulling glass out. As she stitched the wound closed, cleaned, and bandaged it he didn't react at all, as if he didn't even feel it. Once done witg that she was concerned aboit the ready of his body, no matter when she asked McGee always denied he'd even been interrogated but this proves other wise. As they say on the side of the road waiting for another car she asked Tim "Why'd you lie?" He turned to her looking confused but knowing exactly what she ment. "You said you'd never been interrogated before"

Tim's eyes broke contact with Ziva's as he tried to look anywhere but at her. "I tried to move past all of this" he answered. Neither Tony nor Ziva were accepting that as a full answer. He continued "It wasn't always interrogation, some times it was just torture. But it all was for the same reason... I knew too much or tried to do... something"

"What'd you know?" Tiny asked

Tim thought fast to make an excuse, none came. He decided bending the thruth would be best "I know... things about the vigilantes." He says carefully. It wasn't a lie, he was interrogated for information, he was just in a Robin suit. Tony and Ziva realize what he means, he knows who they are. "I was just a kid but as I got older I needed to get away before things got too bad"

Tony felt a need to lift the mood and unknowingly uncovered some of the truth "You ever put on the silly suits?" He asked. Tim's eyes shot open from shock.

It took him a moment to register Tony's comment as a joke but by the time he denied it Ziva knew he was lying. "What? No. It's crazy going hand to hand with criminals at that age." Tony didn't pick up on Tim's lie but Ziva had, but she knows he'd never talk more about it unless they were alone. As the new car pulls up Tim has a request "Look, you can't tell anyone about this. If people learn I'm back in town it could be bad."

Both Tony and Ziva think that if the city were to learn he was back someone might track him downa so there was no choice to make. They both agreed to keep Tim's secret, or at least the version he told them. The three if them entered the cab and went to Penguin's dock house.

* * *

 

By the time they arrived, Batman had come and gone, they were keft with three tied up beaten men. 'Oh Bruce' Tim thought 'This is going to be hard'

"What am I looking at?" Tony asked shocked by what they found.

Tim sighed "Seems Batman is working our case" He began calling GCPD but heard the sirens in the distance "and he's a step ahead of us"


	3. Nostalgia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry with how long this chapter took to write but all my motivation for writing got tossed out a window for a while. Hopefully I'll be able to get the next chapter up sooner rather than later.

Commissioner Gordon and unit from GCPD showed up to the scene trying to claim jurisdiction over this. Tim would be more than happy to let them take the lead and get out of Gotham but the rest of his team would give up the case so easily.

"Anything involving the city's vigilante show is our problem" One of the new officers to the city claimed as he began taking witness statements from the Penguin's thugs in the back of an ambulance. One had a broken wrist and elbow, another a dislocated shoulder but Tim knew they'd gotten off easy by Bruce's standards.

Gibbs had just arrived at the scene, ducking past recorders and under the crime tape. Tim wasn't sure which he feared more, in his boy wonder days Commissioner Gordon was the scariest person he's met. It wasn't because he was insane, he was one of the few good cops in Gotham, it was because he stood up to Bruce-to Batman. Not many had the gut to do that, to stare down a six foot man in full black armor who knew how to break almost every bone in your body without killing you. But Gibbs? Gibbs was almost another parent to Tim but the way he stared at anyone who was in their was, that cold blue stare. It made a chill go down Tim's spine thinking about it.

The two men faced off, neither willing to back down. "Connected to a dead Marine, still our jurisdiction" Gibbs claimed "you can tag along if you like

Gordon's brow lowered, he knew that NCIS still had some say in this case. Joint cooperation would be the best for catching the Penguin, but he had people to protect. He knew this team would start asking questions about the vigilantes themselves, that caused him problems. When someone causes Batman a problem it always turn back to Gordon. Him and the bat had an understanding but there was no way Gordon could talk the masked crusader into backing out of this one. 

"I will" he said keeping his chin high. 

The teams together put the slightly beaten criminals into vans to take back to GCPD. Ziva pulled Tim off to the side "You should got to a hospital, get that checked out by a real doctor" she suggested

Hospitals, as a kid Tim rarely went to them. Alfred knew more than enough medicine to keep the team alive. Back in Gotham now, Alfred might be his best bet again. With the number of reporters around, Tim could call Alfred to pick him up and tell the team he was going to the hospital. The team would likely be tucking in for the night and picking up tomorrow, meanwhile Bruce would just be getting started so the Manor should be empty.

* * *

Alfred pulled up in a black luxury car and opened the door for Tim. Before getting in Tim gave Alfred a hug "It's good to see you again."

"And you Master Drake" Alfred said and Tim shot a look back to Gibbs and them who just pulled away in a Taxi to make sure they didn't overhear. After Alfred pulled away he talked to Tim keeping his eyes on the road "Four years of college and two years at Norfolk you still turn back to police work, only to call when you've been impaled"

Tim smiled at his mocking tone "Well you know me, Alfred, can't stay out of trouble for too long. It gets boring."

Alfred chuckled to himself as they pulled up into Wayne manor "You're not a boy anymore Master Drake, the adventures you seek should be love and finding a proper home, not crime fighting."

"How has that worked for Bruce?" He asked getting out of the car, looking at the manor. It was his home for so long. There were many memories, mostly good, running up these halls with Dick, Christmas with everyone, even most nights as Robin were fun. It wasn't until his last few missions it all turned sour.

The butler raised an eyebrow at Tim "Ms.Kyle has been coming around more often as of late, one can only hope."

Inside a wave of nostalgia hit Tim. The large staircase with a railing just perfect for sliding down leading to the second floor. The old time furniture kept spotless and large glass windows that had been repaired many times from being shattered. "The tarp is where you remember it, lay it out while I get the first aid. Best not to bleed all over the place." Alfred suggested going into a closet under the stairs. 

Making his way to a seperate closet he pulled out a clear plastic tarp which has been bleached many times over. The easiest way to avoid cleaning blood out of hardwood. He laid it down at the corner of the room then removed his shirt. The stitches Ziva attempted were cruel but held up for the time being. Around the sight was red and inflamed. Alfred tisked his tongue looking at her handy work "Your friend tried at least." 

Undoing the stitches hurt more than when they were put in and his side began to bleed again. Alfred applied an antiseptic to clean the wound then restitched it with a clean needle and thread before wrapping it in a clean cloth. As Tim pulled down his shirt once he had finished. "Thank you, Alfred, for everything."

Alfred's aged face formed deep lines at the corners of his mouth when he smiled. "Always, Master Drake. Now would you prefer to stay for a late night meal or shall i drive you back to the hotel?" 

One thirty in the morning wasn't an ideal time to eat but Tim hadn't had much today. Him and Alfred sat down for some eggs and sausage and talked about their lives over the past four years. Alfred shared stories of Bruce's more memorable nights out and how the rest of team had been getting alone. It was rough with Damien at the start but he's grown on everyone. "What about you, Master Drake? Is there anyone in your life yet, when you're not off catching criminals legally?"

Tim nodded as he finished a sausage "Actually Alfred, there is." A warm smile was shared between the two of them. "Her name's Delilah. She works for the DoD and is elegant, kind, warm."

Alfred stood up, took both their plates, and set them in the sink. "She sounds like a lovely woman. Are you happy?"

"Yeah, yeah I am." 

* * *

Alfred brought Tim back to the hotel and he got into his room around quarter to three in the morning. He laid his gun and badge on the side table of his room. The light turned on and Ziva sat in the chair next to Tim's bed. "It's late to returning Tim."

He scratched the back of his neck "I went to the hospital and got stitches. Like you said to. Why are you sitting in my room?" He unlatched his gun and badge and placed them on the counter

She glared at him "I wasn't aware there was a hospital at Mayne Manor."

"Did you follow me?" Tim started to feel defensive shifting in place

Ziva stood up "You lied to a team of trained investigators. Did you not think one of us would catch on?"

Tim was kicking himself in the rear mentally for being so careless with his sneaking around. He backed away from her as she walked over to him "So you did follow me. " 

Nodding she shrugged "That's our job, so yes, I did."

"Our _job_ is to find Erik Meena's killer" Tim defended "My personal life has nothing to do with that Ziva, I would appreciate it if you stayed out of it."

That was harsher than Ziva expected him to get. He was hiding something, she knew it but for the time being decided to leave him be. Tim sat down slowing onto his bed, not to cause any pain to his side and went to sleep.

* * *

Gibbs shot upwards from his sleep and grabbed the gun off his side table. Something had hit the glass door leading to the balcony off his room. Slowly he moved towards the door, pulling it open quickly with his weapon drawn. 

A dark figure stood at the edge of the balcony his cape flowing in the wind. Slowly he turned to Gibbs "I need you and your team to leave gotham" He demanded.

Not lowering his weapon, Gibbs decided to try to find answers "Why?" 

Bruce glared at the man, but clearly intimidation wasn't going to work on the man without getting physical, which he knew Tim wouldn't appreciate. "Being here puts your team at risk. The killer is Oswald Cobblepot, he's a mob boss. I and the GCPD will handle this."

He chuckled slightly "Every person you put in prison gets off due to a lack of a chain of evidence and unnecessary aggression. We're staying." Putting together the who of the danger was the easy part "Why does being here put McGee in danger?" 

"New cops in town, criminals take notice" Bruce explained "If she learns his new name and what he looks like now, there's nowhere he could hide." The sound of a gunshot in the distance pulled Gibbs' eyes away from the large man in a bat suit for only a second. When he looked back Bruce was long gone.

* * *

_Laughter echoed through the dark rooms. A haunting laugh, one he could never forget. He ran through the dark warehouse but the laugh followed him wherever he went._

_He stopped with his back against the wall to breath for a second. "You can't run from me, my boy" A chilling voice told him as his face appeared from the darkness._

_A single gunshot rang through his ears._


	4. Cards on the Table

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tim is left with no choice but to explain his past to his friends.

Tim shot up from his sleep with a yelp, and in his panicked state he knocked over the lamp on his bedside table. There was a light knock on his door "McGee?" Tony yelled through the locked door "Are you alright."

He stood up and placed the lamp back on the table "Yeah, I'm alright." It'd been years since he had a nightmare about those weeks. Being back in Gotham put him too much on edge, someone was bound to notice sooner or later. "Just-just knocked over the lamp by accident."

"Alright but you better get ready soon" Tony suggested "Gibbs looked angier than usual when he left to get some coffee. We need to get something before he gets back"

Getting out of bed, Tim replaced the bandages on his side then pulled his shirt on. He left his room to find Ziva and Tony both on laptops around the coffee table. "Any idea why he was angrier this morning?"

Tony laughed "Why is Gibbs angry any morning? No one really knows"

* * *

All three of them searched for leads until Gibbs came back. They prepared for their usual briefing but Gibbs had a different idea. "Your caped friend visited me last night." He stated directly to Tim

His heart dropped. What the Hell was Bruce thinking? There was no point in acting innocent to the facts "I-I, what did he want?"

"Said you're in danger if _she_ figures out your _new_ name" Gibbs moved closer to Tim, leaving about half a foot of space between them "What do you make of that Tim?" He fumbled with words for a second before getting cut off by his boss "What aren't you telling us McGee."

Tony felt almost guilt for the look of fear on his friend's face adding in what he had learned yesterday "Clearly it's more than just knowing their names, just tell us McGee and we can help."

Tim sighed, he couldn't hide the truth here. Gibbs was a skilled interrogator, he would know. "Timothy Jackson Drake is my full, real name. The she he's referring to is a criminal known as Harley Quinn, if she learns who I am she'd hunt me down and kill me, eventually." He tried not to think about the the things he'd experience before she finally decided death was enough for him.

Raising one brow Ziva started asking questions "Why would this woman want to kill you?"

The words were difficult to get out of his mouth but eventually they formed "When-when I was seventeen I shot and killed her boyfriend." 

"Harley Quinn?" Tony started "As in the crazy chick with pigtails" Tim swallowed hard as he nodded "And her boyfriend was this city's biggest crazy, the Joker."

"That" Tim fumbled with words again "That is correct."

Ziva's next question was the one he dreaded the most "You're a good man, Tim, what did he do to lead you to murder?"

Running his fingers through his hair, Tim sighed. It took him a year to come to terms with the event, telling it was a whole new story. "He kidnapped me and for three weeks tortured me for the identity of Batman and then to _be_ the next Joker." His voice was shaking by the end of his sentence.

"Why you." Gibbs asked plain and simple, masking a feeling of betray with anger in his voice "You can't be the only person to know the man under the mask"

Tim's face paled, he wasn't the only one. Gordan is the most logical choice of regular civilians to determine their identity. "There were reasons, can you trust me on that."

Gibbs' glare set in deeper, his heart sank from the stare alone "No, McGee, I can't. You lost that trust when McGee turned out not to even be your last name. "

"She knew my name," He explained not even able to look at the hurt looks on his friends' faces. He's been lying since the minute they met, how could he look at them now? "There was no where I could run if-if I didn't change it. Harely is insane and she'd stop at nothing to see me exactly where I put him."

Tony wanted to help Tim, but at this point he wasn't sure how much he could trust his friend. "Why didn't you just go to the police, Tim?" 

"I did. Commissioner Gordon arranged my new identity and called in favors to get me out of the city unnoticed." Tim explained. Those few weeks of changing names and moving from safe house to safe house, he'd constantly looked over his shoulder, just waiting for her to find him one day.

He planned on coninued but his boss cut off his next sentence "You didn't answer my question. Why you?"

There was no going back, all cards have to be laid out on the table here or he could kiss his whole new life goodbye. What they do with the information was up to them now. "The Joker didn't target Tim Drake, he came after Robin." A moment's pause allowed the fact to sit in among the three of them. "I was seventeen, patrolling alone because Batman was unable to get away from his life that night, looking back it was the worst decision of my life."

"So you did put the costumes on" Tony noted, he did so much more than just that "You lied to our faces directly Tim."

Tim looked at Tony and then back down to the floor and scratched the back of his neck "I-I did. I've tried so hard to move on from my past, she'll never stop hunting me, so I thought it would be safer for everyone to never learn who I was." He explained thinking over all the ways his life might be over now. The best outcome he saw, he was fired from NCIS, worst arrested and exposed publicly as Robin. "I've been looking over my shoulder since I was seventeen, just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

No one was sure where to take this conversation next. Tim stood silently waiting for his friends' judgement to fall upon him. Before anyone spoke up, Ziva's phone rang. "Oswald Cobblepot was just picked up by a security camera outside Gotham National Bank."

The banks. "Boss, Penguin controls that side of town, he'll have an army of goons." 

Tim tried to warn them but Gibbs was too frustrated to listen "Sit down." He ordered. Reluctantly Tim followed. Gibbs pulled his cuffs out and attached Tim to the arm of the chair. "This is your chance, Tim. If you're here when we get back we'll talk. If not, we won't look for you." Gibbs left the room, heading to the GCPD to arrange for back up.

Tony and Ziva looked to each other, trying to think of something to say. It was possible this was the last time they'll see their friend. "Good luck Tim" Tony said and left, Ziva only gave an appreciative nod to him and followed behind the rest of the team.

\-----

It was silent the entire way over to Gotham National. Gibbs drove down the road at a dangerously fast speed. Once there the bank was operating normally, but everyone glanced nervously as the cops walked in the front doors. Gibb's approached the security guard standing at the main entrance. "Have you seen this man?" Holding up a photo of Cobblepot.

Shrugging the guard nodded "Yeah, he's been here. What of it?"

His glare deepened as he examined the room, security cameras were placed every few feet along the ceiling. "Do those work?"

"Yeah."

"We'll need to review the footage from them." There was no hint of a request in his sentence.

The guard nodded and lead the team into the security room. Four different monitors were set up, streaming the video feeds from all over the bank. "Carly, some feds want to see footage from when Mr. Cobblepot came in this mornin'."

A young blond woman sat at the chair in front of the monitors and sighed "Sure." She rewound the video to twenty minutes ago.

Oswald Cobblepot walked into the back with only his umbrella in hand. He approached the closest teller and set the umbrella on his desk, the end facing him. The teller tensed up and grabbed a blackduffle bag, handing it to Oswald. He nodded, placed a small paper in the teller's glass, and left with his duffel bag and umbrella. "Go back." Gibs demanded, as the video rewound again he pointed to the screen. "There" the video stopped as he was placing down the paper. "Can you see what that is."

Carly shook her head "These cameras are ancient, no zoom. Might still be there, you could just check his desk."

Tony, Ziva and Gibbs made their way to the bank teller's desk. Tony had put on gloves and picked up the paper. It was a playing card. He turned it over "Joker" he muttered, as fear rose in him. "Tim!" 

\-----

Tim wasn't planning on leaving but he didn't want to be handcuffed to a chair in the heart of Gotham. As he picked the lock to the cuffs he heard foot steps outside the door. There were too many and it was too soon to be the team. He panicked for a moment but the foot steps continued past his room, it was quiet again. Then _click_ , he finally got the cuffs undone. It'd been a while he felt out of practice with how long that took him. He stood up from the chair and began pacing the room, what will he say when they get back? How does he justify lying to his team for years? He's lied to everyone; Gibbs, Tony, Ziva, Abby, Duck, even Delilah. Was there any coming back from that?

His first decision was to call her, better her to hear it from him than from the team or a random police officer. He ran to his laptop and opened Skype, it should be her lunch break by now. He just hoped she was at her laptop. The call rang twice before she answer, a smile stretched over his face just seeing her. "Tim, I wasn't expecting to hear from you until tonight. Is everything alright?"

This was it, this is where he'd stop lying. "Delilah, there's something you need to know, and when I tell you things may change but not matter what I've always loved you. You know that right?"

"Of course I do, Tim, but you're making me worried." She stated "What's going on? Are you alright?"

Now or never. "I've lied, about a lot of things since we met."

"What do you mean?"

"I grew up in Gotham, I was a vigilante, like Batman. I was actually his side kick." He explained barely taking a breath "I was seventeen and on patrol one night things went south, I was captured by a lunatic and held hostage for three weeks. I...killed him trying to escape, changed my name and left the city." Tim took a large breath at the end of that, it was surprisingly easier the second time around.

Delilah stared blankly for a moment before speaking "Tim, you were a kid. Does it really change who you are now?"

He shook his head, "I-I-I mean no, I guess not. Gibbs is really angry at me for it, I'm not sure what he'll do."

"What's the worse that could happen?" She asked trying to be optimistic.

The only problem with that is Tim's been thinking over worse case scenarios since he got to Gotham. "I could be publicly outed as Robin and arrested, facing multiple charges of assault and unnecessary force with ten to twenty years in prison."

"That's not going to happen" She tried to reassure him "He might be angry but he's reasonable. No way is he throwing you in prison for something you did when you were Seventeen."

Tim pinched the bridge of his nose "There is another part to it." He said, Delilah waited for him to continue on his own time. "The man I killed, he has a girl friend and she has practically an army of criminals. She's the kind of person who would still hold this grudge after ten years, especially with how obsessed she was with him."

Confusion turned to fear quickly in her "Then get out of there, come back to DC and just don't look back Tim."

Again Tim shook his head "I can't do that, I'm waiting for Gibbs to get back, I need to talk to him. I need him to know that I had reasons for doing what I did and that I didn't _want_ to lie to any of them. It was just  safer this way."

His mind was already made up but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try "Tim it's not safe for you there then. Your job is one thing but an entire gang hunting you is another."

"I know, and I'm sorry Delilah." He said "I just wanted you to hear it from me encase anything went wrong. I love you."

"I love-" A loud crash on his end cut off her sentence. 

The door crashed onto the floor with a bang and in walked Harley Quinn and three large goons "Now isn't this sweet." Tim rushed to end the call before she could see what Delilah looked like. "Aw, such a downer, ending the call before I even got to say hello. These were not manors we taught you Junior."

Tim tried to stand up, only to be pushed back into his chair by two of the large men "Don't call me that." He demanded. Quickly he grabbed one of the large men's wrist, broke it and kicked the other one hard in the shin. Tim made it to his feet for a second before the third large man punched him across the face and he fell to the floor. 

Harley bent down to look at him "What's the matter Junior? Still ashamed 'bout killing your father or that you didn't hold out long enough to be just like him."

His blood ran cold as he swept out Harley's legs and tried to make a run for it. Tim grabbed the dinning chair and broke it over the third man's back. He tried to run to his room, where his gun was held but Harley recovered quickly and, with a rounded kick, hit him in the back of the head. Back on his knees he was disoriented and sore. The first man ran up to Tim, he grabbed a piece of the broken chair and the man practically fell into it.He barely had time to react to the fact that he had just killed a man because the second man hit a second chair over him "You two were never parents, I just gave up some pride to avoid torture." Tim spat laying down in pain.

Before he could try to get up again, Harley punched him straight across his face, her knuckles making hard contact with his temple. He was knocked out cold.

\-----

With a sigh Tony ended the call on his cell "That was Delilah, Mc-Tim's been attacked" Gibb's had already been driving the car in a reckless manner significantly above the speed limit but that didn't mean he wouldn't go faster. Ziva and Tony just grabbed and hope for the best.

They arrived to a broken apartment door and one dead body. It wasn't Tim, which was a relief and worrisome in different ways. Ducky and Jimmy arrived on scene only minutes later while they were bagging and tagging. "Jethro, what is going on?" Ducky asked. All he had gotten was a text form Ziva that said:  _Dead body. Our apartment. Tim missing._

Gibbs sipped his morning coffee, which had gone cold by now, trying to keep his own nerves down. "Tim used to live here, a gang has an old bone to pick with him. What can you tell me about this man?" He figured it best to leave out the full story until he too knew it.

Ducky examined his body quickly "This chair leg to the chest is an obvious sign of death, estimated T.O.D. less than two hours ago, his wrist had been broken and knuckles bruised. Timothy put up a fight." He noted, although that was evident by the state the room was left in.

One second the balcony door was closed and the next Batman and Robin were inside "Of course he did, Drake isn't an idiot." Damien noted as he looked around the room. The young boy had only really talked to Tim during the holiday season, but he still considered him his brother. Even if he would never say it out loud.

Tony walked straight up to Batman and attempted to punch him straight across the jaw. Bruce pushed his hand away as gently as he could. "What kind of man lets teenagers and little boys dress up and fight psychopaths?" 

Bruce glared a Tony but tried to be polite for Tim's sake "Tim came to me. The law doesn't work in Gotham like it does in DC. Even little boys get tired of seeing their friends and family dying in the streets or joining gangs while corrupt cops look the other way."  

"Alright Mr. Highhorse then do you know where we can find Tim." Tony asked keeping his hands by his sides but in a fist.

Damien picked up photos on the floor "Fuck" He said tossing them back onto the ground "She taunting us, dangling the past right where we can see it."

One of the photos got caught into a breeze from the balcony and was carried through the room. It fell right at Ducky's feet. He turned over the photo and dropped it right away "My god. Timothy."

Gibbs picked up a few photos and was appalled by the sights. "What's the best and worst scenarios we're looking at here?" He had to push himself into work to avoid thinking too much about what Tim might be going through even at this minute.

Bruce, even will all he's seen with years at this, found it hard to admit the worst case scenario. "The worst possible case I can think of is if Harley tried to continue the Joker's plan."

"Which was?" Ziva asked avoiding her eyes from the photos 

"Making a protege. A second Joker." He answered, struggling to keep the deep voice he put out to be Batman. "Best case, besides finding him, is he's already dead."

Jimmy dropped the tools he was using "How could you say that? You're hoping to find him dead?"

Batman closed his fists. "No."

Damien scoffed "Drake being dead would be a mercy on his part. No one wants it, but no one wants him to have to be tortured until we find him and just hoping his sanity is intact by the time we do"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not great with fight scenes, hope it turned out alright.


End file.
